Heath MacDonald

Yes, certainly. The whole emphasis is on being less dependent on imports. Seventy-two per cent of vegetables are imported in this country. I think it's 89% of fruits and vegetables. Anytime we have an opportunity to provide hydroponics, greenhouses or something else, or increase capacity for an existing business, and then have the storage capabilities as well, whether it's freezers or cold [more]

I don't believe so. I think there's a whole legal process that the government follows in that regard.

Newfoundland is unique in some ways, as a distinct province, but northern communities are very similar to Newfoundland. It's something we're focused on. I visited your riding, which has the egg hatchery and the new dairy co-op. Those are the types of things that may allow these individuals or those businesses to scale up with financing through the FSS to ensure that they can provide even more [more]

No one likes change, but the closures' relevance to what we're doing is more on the operational side as opposed to the science side. The science side is the important aspect that people keep talking about, and we're not doing less science. From what I've heard across the country, even through my national policy frameworks, we've had 20 cases, and people are saying that we're not doing science [more]

Minister of Trade We've had open discussions with the Canadian Cattle Association, for example, and specifically with certain ranchers as well. Many of the discussions are moving forward in a way so that everybody, including the, is starting to recognize and understand the concerns of the Canadian Cattle Association and farmers and ranchers in this country. I had a couple of questions for Debbie [more]

Those are exactly the discussions that are taking place until the route is in place. Those are the issues that I have raised.

We're going to work with the farmers to the best of my ability and communication. It's going to be key.

I believe, Jacques, that your question was relevant to compensation, possibly, if I understood the translation appropriately.

transport minister We had a discussion the other day on Alto, and I've been in recent contact with UPA's Martin Caron. We had good discussions. I've been talking to thewith concerns relevant to the agriculture sector in both Quebec and Ontario and will continue with that, and I think part of the issue here is the lack of communication from Alto. I think they need to do a better job of explaining [more]

The route has not even been chosen yet. It's very hard to analyze what the loss of acreage will be or how many farms will be affected until the actual final route is chosen by Alto and the government.

Based on my conversation with our counterparts at the G7, they're all concerned about fertilizer. With this new peace agreement—hopefully it holds—in the Strait of Hormuz, we've seen the price of fertilizer already start to drop on the markets, but we need to make sure that we isolate ourselves from some of the stuff that has happened on the geopolitical front over the past year. I've had [more]

Certainly, in any trade negotiation, it should be a point of discussion. On the ASF zoning arrangements for the pork industry, I'm told by the Canadian Pork Council that it's been ongoing for eight years, so it's a massive win for them. When you look at our exports, we export nearly 70% of pork production to countries that include Japan. It's extremely important in that regard, at $1.8 billion, [more]

As I've said many times before, I believe right now we're at.... Let me get these numbers right. Deputy, correct me if I'm wrong, but there are 23 scientists who are presently moving from one facility to another, and then there are the two going to Guelph, so 25 scientists out of the 52 who were going to be cut are actually moving. The science is going to continue. There are going to be [more]

Most certainly, and again, making sure that I'm in regular contact with UPA as well is important. transport minister Yes, I've spoken to theseveral times on the issue relevant to agriculture and agricultural land to ensure.... Like I said, I think we need to do a better job at communication, because there's a lot of misinformation out there. I think there are opportunities to rectify some of [more]

That's a good question, but I think most projects are estimates, and they either go under budget or they go over budget.

I think the situation becomes the communication aspect of it that I mentioned several times. It is to make sure that everybody fully understands the concerns of the farmers. That's where I come in, making sure that.... Martin and UPA have certainly voiced many concerns. I want to make sure that they get to the table of Alto and the executives who are making some of these decisions. I think that's [more]

To the first part of your question, the first thing we started working on when I became minister, which I had a concern about, was the regulatory impediments farmers face each and every day around seeds, feeds, fertilizers, innovation and technology, and how slow that process works and how it put us at a competitive disadvantage with other countries we trade with. That, first and foremost, is [more]

Thank you, Chair. It's great to see some new faces, obviously, at this committee. I sat on this committee for a number of years, and I certainly enjoyed every moment of it. Once again, I want to recognize the important work of the committee, and that includes your current study on food security. As you have heard many times around this table, farmers and the whole sector are facing intense [more]

It's not a yes-or-no question because, to your first part of your question, there are tariffs from the EU on fertilizer coming out of Russia, so part of that question I can't answer because you're not directing it in the right sequence. By 2028, I believe the EU is going to charge 100% tariff, so they don't want Russian fertilizer either. Back to the first part of your question, I've had this [more]